MISSION & PROGRAMS

Mission:
We believe that providing challenging experiences in a supportive environment will make a lasting, positive change in the attitudes and abilities of children and adults with disabilities, and in the people who care for them. Through the beneficial activity of therapeutic horseback riding, our participants learn new skills and expand their self-perception, enjoying a sense of freedom from their disabilities. We believe the families benefit from the relaxed atmosphere of the ranch and a valuable chance to network with other families and caregivers. We are committed to providing our program at low or no cost to our participants, so that the therapeutic benefits available through connections with people, animals, and nature are never denied a single individual in need.
     
     Halleck Creek Ranch offers horse owners a safe and loving home to which to donate their horses. Many horses are donated because their owners outgrow them, or because they need to lead less strenuous lives. Many do not want to sell their horses, in fear of where their loved one may end up, as once a horse is sold, there’s no guarantee the horse will be cared for and loved in the way they deserve. HCR depends upon the generosity of the horse community to donate gentle, healthy horses to be used in their programs. Working in the easy pace of the therapy program is the perfect second career for these horses, and a great way to make use of their life experiences. When we accept ownership of these horses we provide high quality care assisted by professional veterinary treatment and consultation.

Our organization conducts Equine Assisted Services in accordance with the EQUUS Foundation Guidelines on Qualifications of Organizations Conducting Equine Assisted Services (EAS).
Our organization provides community outreach and/or public education programs involving horses.
Our organization is directly responsible for the care and shelter of equines involved in our programs.
100% of our total programs and services are horse-related.
Our organization does not use satellite, overflow, foster, and/or outreach facilities

Equine Assisted Services (EAS):
Our organization provides the following Equine Assisted Services (EAS):
    Therapeutic Mounted Services
    Therapeutic Unmounted Services

6: Total number of Equine Assisted Service Providers at Halleck Creek Ranch

     1. Brenda Falco

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Brenda is a CHA certified riding instructor, teaching both English and Western disciplines, and is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. She brings over 30 years of equine experience to Halleck Creek, including teaching, riding training and leading trail rides. She enjoys spending time riding on the trails of Marin with Reno, the Quarter Horse she has owned since 2010. Her favorite part of being on the Halleck Creek team is seeing her students succeed in achieving their riding goals and feeling confident with their equine friends.

     2. Hillary Werhane

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Hillary is a certified Advanced-Level instructor through PATH, Intl. She also teaches riding at two additional EAAT centers in the SF Bay Area.

     3. Molly Scannell

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Molly was a volunteer with Halleck Creek Ranch in her youth. She has an Animal Science and Equine Science degree from Cal Poly, and served an internship with Hoofbeats, a therapeutic riding program in Virginia. She came back to Halleck Creek as a part-time instructor, working her way up to Program Director in 2007 and Executive Director in 2017. She brings a long history of community service, horsemanship and passion for therapeutic riding to her position. She is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International.

     4. Nicole Klemas

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Volunteer

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Certified through PATH, Intl. in 2019, Nicole is a volunteer instructor.

     5. Robyn Moyer

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Robyn was fortunate to grow up with horses and benefited from their strong, loving and generous spirit. In her youth, Robyn was involved with 4-H and enjoyed Western Pleasure horse shows as well as riding her horse Lily on the hills of Novato. Coming to HCR almost three years ago, Robyn has enjoyed the opportunity to share that experience with so many others. Robyn says that witnessing the joy and confidence the riders feel and show through their smiles is simply the best! In 2017, she became a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor from the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship. Robyn says she can’t imagine doing anything else, anywhere else.

     6. Saga McIsaac

         FACILITY PARTICIPATION:

         Halleck Creek Ranch

         RELATIONSHIP: Employee

         SERVICES PROVIDED:

         Therapeutic Mounted Services

         Therapeutic Unmounted Services

         DEGREES, LICENSES AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

         Born and raised in West Marin, she joined Pony Club and took her first lesson shortly after she was four. She has been teaching lessons and working with horses for over 24 years and owns a rescued horse named Daisy. Horses have been in her life for a long time, and she hopes they will always be. Saga is a PATH Certified Riding Instructor.

Overview of our programs involved with providing EAS to individuals with special needs:
     For over 42 years, Halleck Creek Ranch has improved the lives of children and adults with disabilities by using the four strong legs of a horse to provide therapeutic horseback riding and other Equine Assisted Activities. Therapeutic riding is a complementary therapy that provides physical, emotional, social and cognitive benefits to disabled people.
     
     At Halleck Creek Ranch, we use a hands-on educational model that uses the interaction and relationship between horses and humans as an environment for physical, emotional and mental development. It is a challenging, adventurous and fun method of activity that promotes independence, self-esteem, problem-solving skills and confidence, as well as the development of positive social/life skills in a supportive environment. Our 60-acre ranch and the surrounding wilderness lends itself as a unique multi-sensory classroom, while the horses offer a natural partner to teach us about ourselves and society, develop skills, and practice better ways to navigate life.
     
     Through a curriculum of activities designed to address individual goals and needs, each equine interaction is framed to help students learn and grow. The ranch and its wilderness quality setting lends itself as a unique multi-sensory classroom and horses offer a number of attributes that make working with them a natural partner to teach us about ourselves and society, develop skills, and practice better ways to navigate life.
     • Equines are herd animals who naturally want to interact. They easily engage students with their willingness to respond and cooperate. Developing the skills to effectively communicate with a horse builds self-confidence, empathy, and trust.
     • Visually, most horses are large animals and therefore can easily represent some of life’s bigger challenges and obstacles that each of us face in our personal life and social situations. The most prevalent benefit we observe in our participants, regardless of age, disability, or background, is a boost in their self-esteem.
     • Horses are prey animals whose very survival depended on the ability to be very sensitive to both non-verbal communication and another’s intent (even when it is subconscious)! The feedback they give to humans in response to our body language is valuable information as we learn about how we and others communicate. They do not have “ulterior motives” when they interact. Their non-judgmental presence creates an emotionally safe learning environment.
     • Horses have survived for thousands of years because they create an effective social hierarchy with clear “rules” and responsibilities ensuring safety and harmony with in the herd. Learning about herd dynamics and observing the horses as they interact is another metaphor for society, providing opportunities to explore social situations and how to successfully navigate them.
     
     OUR PROGRAMS
     Participants come from all over the Bay Area including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, Solano, and Sonoma Counties. Riders represent a broad range of physical, cognitive, psychological and social challenges. 33% are diagnosed on the autism spectrum, have non-specified developmental delays or difficulty with sensory integration, 30% have neuromuscular deficits or ataxia such as found with cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy, 30% have developmental, speech, mental and/or emotional challenges including deafness, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, depression, bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia. The remaining 7% are comprised of individuals with a variety of genetic disorders. Many also experience behavior and mood disorders in addition to their primary diagnosis. Our ridership is currently comprised of both youth and adults ages 5-84, although the majority of riders are under the age of 21.
     Riders also represent fairly broad cultural, ethnic and economic backgrounds. 22% of riders identify as African American or Latino, 21% identify as Asian, while 50% identify as white. We awarded 40 scholarships in 2019 for both weekly programming, as well as summer horsemanship camps. 60% of riders requesting scholarships come from homes with annual incomes of $30,000 or less.
     
     We offer 5 eight-week sessions throughout the year comprised of individual and group 30 minute, 60 minute and 90 minute lessons and/or trail rides. We also offer summer riding camps for youth and young adults, as well as other special programs. One such program we call "Vocational and Life Skills Program.” Facilitated by trained staff, the VALS program provides special needs youth and young adults with the opportunity to develop a set of useful life and job skills while also cultivating emotional intelligence. The curriculum is intentionally crafted to meet the needs of the participants and builds upon itself allowing for deeper understanding and application of core concepts and offers repetition to increase development of new skills. Each week explores a special topic and highlights animals, plants or general ranch duties, helping students improve their ability to follow directions, and develop skills in animal husbandry, gardening and facilities maintenance. The interactions they have during their sessions lead to an improvement in their communication skills, a deepened ability to interact with and relate to others, the ability to work as a team, and increased emotional intelligence.
     
     Our program participants also participate in a number of community and ranch events including the Pt. Reyes Station Western Days Parade, Marin Human Race, Marin County Fair 4-H Horse Show, ranch BBQs, anniversary party, Halleck Horse Show and Open House and our annual fundraiser. These events provide an opportunity to focus on social development. They also support our families who have limited options for venues the whole family can enjoy. Some events such as competing at the Marin County Fair 4-H Horse Show enables the rider to focus on learning specific skills over the course of several months that they will be demonstrate at the show. Showing at this level is a real challenge for our riders which make their success all the more inspiring.
     
     All activities begin with staff selecting which horses and volunteers will work best with each rider. Based on the rider’s needs and goals, horses are selected by body type, training, gait and temperament. Volunteers are selected as having the potential to identify with the rider and develop a friendship. The majority of our riders come to us by word-of-mouth, medical or educational referral and most have had some kind of evaluation such as an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) that helps staff identify benchmarks for each rider to achieve by the end of each session.
     The sights, smells, sounds, warmth, and motion of the horse make horseback riding one of the more dynamic and engaging activities available to youth and adults. By stretching and strengthening their core muscles and improving their flexibility and balance, rider’s increase their ability to sit, stand, walk and/or run. Riding instruction helps rider’s focus on completing tasks, accepting change and learning patience. Riding with peers promotes development of social skills and awareness of others. Lastly learning to trust a large animal increases a rider's self-esteem, improving a rider’s relationships with friends and family.
     
     Beyond physical and emotional benefits, we often witness a significant improvement in self-confidence as the rider gains in their horsemanship, and development of new social skills and friendships with other riders and volunteers around the shared love of horses and nature. Based on feedback from physicians, therapists, parents or caregivers, we keep note of steady progress or areas still needing improvement during the course of the year. When our riders take a hiatus for surgery or due to a medical setback, we continue our communication with them through online communications such as Facebook, email or letters.
     
     We teach our riders and volunteers according to the tenets of Natural Horsemanship taught by Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman. We believe that horses are inherently trusting, willing and naturally oriented to people. Our horses are special creatures, so sensitive they can feel a fly on their flank, yet so tranquil that an over excited youngster wiggling on their back elicits no response. We are extremely grateful these “gentle giants” allow us to provide life-affirming, challenging and healthy therapeutic riding to such a diverse population of people. We ask our riders to “feel” their mounts, to be attentive to their body language, gaits and behavior. Thinking like a horse means understanding that horses are prey animals and need to feel safe in their surroundings much like our riders.

Overview of our programs involved with providing community outreach and/or public education programs involving horses:
     We serve over 150 children and adults with special needs in our weekly therapeutic riding and summer camp programs each year. In order to provide these programs, we rely heavily on over 250 volunteers from throughout our community. Each and every volunteer is required to attend an orientation, during which they are educated about Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies, as well as trained about how to work with our riders and horses to best facilitate our programs. We hold quarterly educational events for our volunteers, providing them the opportunity to learn new horsemanship skills and to hone the skills they have with experienced and thoughtful guidance.

Research/Medical Use of Equines:
Our organization has never made, and would not ever consider making, equines available for research studies or medical training that involves invasive procedures and/or that which may cause pain or suffering to the equine. 

Religious Affiliation:
Our organization does not promote religious education, religious purposes, or a specific religious faith or use donations for religious education or religious purposes; require participants to be of a certain faith; require participation in religious, instruction, activities or services; or require participation in prayer, worship, religious instruction or other religious activities as a condition of receiving social or secular services offered. 

Auction Donation:
Our organization has never allowed, or would not consider allowing, an equine to be sold, transferred, released, or otherwise placed into possession of any person or organization that would cause or allow the equine to be sold at auction for slaughter. 

POLICIES: ACQUISITION

Our organization acquires horses/equines from the following source(s):
    Donation  
    Purchase/Adoption from Owner  
    Return  

Our organization does not acquire horses/equines from the following source(s):
    Lease  
    Auction  
    Kill pen/Feedlot  
    Surrender  
    Seizure  
    Abandonment  

Our organization will accept the following:
    Geldings
    Mares

Not Checked:
    Pregnant Mares
    Foals
    Stallions
    Only Stallions to be castrated

Additional information about our acquisition policies and practices:
Characteristics we're looking for in our horses:
     Age 8-18 years old
     Height: between 13-16 hh
     Soundness in all gaits: walk, trot and canter
     Preferred training: trail riding, English, Western, vaulting, dressage, trailering
     Recent experience being ridden in an arena and on the trail
     Low maintenance: basic feeding, health care, hoof care
     Good with other horses: our horses typically live in pairs in small open paddocks or pasture
     Temperament: excellent ground manners, low flight response, calm and confident, trainable
     Must stand quietly while tied to hitching rail to be groomed, saddled, and to wait for lessons to begin
     Tolerant of loud noises, movement in the saddle, hugging, and equipment such as toys and wheelchairs

POLICIES: INTAKE, ASSESSMENT & TRAININING

Prior to a horse being accepted and/or arriving at the facility, the organization requires the following with respect to the health status of the horse:
    Vaccination records that have been administered within the last 12 months
    If health records are not available or are out-of-date, the owner is responsible for having vaccinations administered.
    If health records are not available or are out-of-date, our veterinarian will administer appropriate vaccinations

Prior to a horse being accepted and/or arriving at the facility, the organization has the following policies in place:
    The owner of a potential equine is interviewed over the phone or in person prior to seeing the equine
    The equine is evaluated at its place of residence
    The owner completes an application/contract which constitutes the agreement between the owner and our organization
    The owner is financially responsible for the shipping of the equine to and from the organization
    Equines are on trial for up to 30 days
    Equines are on trial up to 60 days
    The trial period may be reduced based on the equine's progress
    During the trial period, the organization accepts financial responsibility for the care of the equine, including board, feed, shoeing and any necessary veterinary care, up to a fixed amount agreed upon by the organization and the owner
    The trial period may be terminated by either the organization or the owner for any reason

Following arrival of the equine at the facility, the following is performed:
    Physical examination by a veterinarian upon arrival and/or prior to quarantine departure
    Physical examination by trained barn staff
    Photographs are taken of each equine upon arrival at the facility and kept with the equine's health records
    A Henneke Body Conditioning Score or other body conditioning score is assigned
    Physical examination by a farrier
    Physical examination by a dentist

Upon intake, the organization has the following quarantine policy in place:
    The equine is not quarantined

The typical length of quarantine is:   Horses are not quarantined

Horses are assessed for following skills and behaviors:
    Retrieval from a pasture/paddock
    Leading with a halter and lead rope
    Temperament, disposition and attitude, such as rated from very calm to very high spirited
    Saddling
    Bridling
    Lunging
    Loading onto and unloading off a trailer
    Mounting and dismounting
    Riding at the walk
    Riding at the trot
    Riding at the canter
    Riding by a beginner and/or unbalanced rider
    Tolerance to unusual objects and loud noises
    Known vices, i.e., cribbing, biting, kicking, weaving, stall walking, etc
    Grooming
    Bathing
    Clipping
    Tolerance to multiple handlers at the same time

Our organization has the following policies and procedures in place pertaining to the ongoing assessment of horses in its care:
    The Henneke Body Condition score or other body conditioning score is updated at least annually
    Photographs are taken of each equine annually and kept with the equine's health records
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine chiropractor
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine acupuncturist
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine massage therapist
    Equines at our facility may be treated by an equine nutritionist
    Physical examination by a veterinarian at least annually
Our organization has the following policies and procedures in place pertaining to the weight-carrying or workload capabilities of horses/equines that are ridden in our care:
    Our organization evaluates at least annually and maintains a written record of the weight-carrying and workload limitations for each equine that is ridden

The following variables are considered in determining the weight-carrying and workload limitations for each equine that is ridden:
    Equine age, weight, breed, body condition, fitness, balance, health and soundness
    Equine conformation to include the top line, length of back, strength and width of loin, bone density (measured by the circumference of the cannon bone just below the knee)
    Size, shape, condition and angle of the hooves
    Participant weight, height, body proportions, balance, fitness and riding skills as well as behavioral issues and safety concerns
    Weight and proper fit of the saddle and other equipment
    Terrain and footing in the working environment
    Duration and frequency of working sessions, as the frequency with which an equine is subjected to maximum weight carrying and/or workload
    Nature and pace of work, repetitive or varied, radius of turns, degree of incline and regularity of footing when equine is subject to maximum weight-carrying capacity
    Temperature and/or weather conditions
    Seasonal impact on the equines' workload and weight-carrying capabilities and limitations


Horses provided formal training (groundwork or riding):   2-3 times per week

Additional information about our intake, assessment & training policies and practices:
Procedures for Horses Entering the HCR Program on Trial (listed on our website):
     
     1. The horse must meet the criteria to be considered, and the owner must complete the Application for Horse Donation in full. The Program Director and the Executive Director will determine if the characteristics of the horse match the current program needs.
     
     2. We require the veterinary records from the previous three years of vaccinations, dentals, and other medical treatments before your horse can be considered for evaluation. Your horse must be current on preventative vaccines (i.e. Flu/Rhino, Rabies, West Nile and 3- Way)
     
     3. If the horse is boarded within a 50-mile radius of Halleck Creek Ranch, the horse will be observed and evaluated at the boarding site while being groomed, tacked, led and ridden by a minimum of two HCR staff, one of which will be a certified instructor with PATH, Intl.
     
     4. If the horse is boarded beyond a 50-mile radius of HCR, the owner may schedule a day/time to bring the horse to HCR, at owner’s expense, for a 1-2 hour evaluation. Upon completion of the evaluation, the owner will bring horse back to the boarding facility to await the evaluation results.
     
     5. If the horse meets the criteria and there is space available, arrangements will be made for the owner to deliver the horse to HCR, at owner’s expense, for a 60-day trial period. Horses can pass or fail at any point during the trial period, and the owner will be notified of such standing by the Program Director.
     
     6. Prior to delivery of the horse, the owner and the HCR Executive Director will sign the Horse Trial Period Agreement.
     
     7. During the trial period, the horse will be slowly introduced to the rest of the herd and gradually brought into our lesson program. During the trial period, the horse will be in the care and custody of HCR for the purposes of evaluation and training as outlined in the Horse Trial Period Agreement. The owner may come out to visit, but must be sure to call before taking the long drive out to ensure a staff member is here to meet them.
     
     8. Please note: HCR will be responsible for the feeding and care of the horse during the trail period. If the horse has any special feeding requirements, the owner will advise HCR in the Application for Horse Donation and at time of delivery. The owner of the horse is responsible for the cost of basic veterinary and farrier care while the horse is in his/her trial period. If said horse arrives barefoot and it is determined that he/she requires shoes in order to comfortably continue his/her trial period, the owner will be responsible for the cost of farrier service.
     
     9. A horse will only be accepted into the program upon successful completion of the trial period and as approved by the Program Director and Executive Director. If the decision to accept the horse is made, the owner and the Executive Director will sign the Horse Donation Agreement. If the horse does not successfully complete the trial and the decision to return him/her is made, the horse must be removed from HCR property at the owner’s expense within 15 days of notification from HCR staff.

POLICIES: BREEDING

The organization has the following policies related to breeding and stallions:
    The facility or facilities where our organization conducts its programs, including foster facilities, does NOT breed equines.

POLICIES: EUTHANASIA

The organization has the following policies related to euthanasia:
    Our organization will never have an equine euthanized for space
    Our organization may have a healthy equine euthanized if it is a threat to itself, other equines, or people and euthanasia is recommended by a veterinarian
    Our organization may have an equine euthanized upon the recommendation of the veterinarian after all reasonable treatment options have been explored
    Euthanasia is done on site when possible to decrease trauma from transport
    Disposal of the carcass is handled within 24 hours

The following are authorized to administer the procedure for your organization in accordance with state laws:
    Veterinarian

POLICIES: RE-HOMING

View Re-homing Agreement
Our organization has the following re-homing (adoption/purchase) policies and procedures in place:
    All potential adopters/purchasers complete a written contract which constitutes the agreement between our organization and the new owner
    Our organization does NOT re-home an equine to first time equine owners
    Potential adopters/purchasers must visit our organization and be observed with the equine on site
    The distance of a potential adopter/purchaser's home from our facility is a consideration for when re-homing an equine
    Our organization conducts a site visit of the adopter/purchaser's facility before the transfer of the equine to the adopter/purchaser's facility

The uploaded Re-homing agreement includes the following re-homing (adoption/purchase) statements:
    The agreement states that adopters/purchasers can return an equine to our organization free of charge

Our organization requires references from the following:
    Veterinarian
    Personal/Other

Transfer of ownership occurs:   Immediately (at the time of adoption/purchase) or less than one year

The average equine re-homing (adoption/purchase) fee received by your organization:
Not applicable; None received

Our organization has the following policies and procedures related to horses that need to be retired, are no longer useful, or are no longer manageable:
    Equines may remain at our organization for their lifetimes
    Equines may be found suitable homes by our organization
    Equines may be returned to their owners
    In the case an equine is unmanageable and demonstrates repeated dangerous behaviors, the equine may be euthanized upon the recommendation of the veterinarian
    In the case an equine is unsound and/or unhealthy and cannot be treated to relieve suffering, the equine may be euthanized upon the recommendation of the veterinarian